A theorist, organist, and conductor, Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004), and did graduate work in Musicology. He serves as choirmaster for the new FSSP parish in Los Angeles, where he resides with his wife and children.

“It is very curious, rather barbarous, much too ornate, immeasurably less dignified than ours now, anything in the world rather than archaic or primitive.”
— Fr. Fortescue describing the “Sarum Use” in 1912

EARSAGO, SOMEONETOLD ME that insanity is caused when the brain sends more “messages” than a person can handle all at once. For instance, what does your leg feel like right now? I suppose your leg feels fine, but you had to “think about it” to know for sure. Why weren’t you thinking about it before I asked you? Because your brain realized it was fine, so there was no reason to send you a “message” about it. The human brain is a marvelous wonder of God’s creation and somehow knows which messages are important! No one who studies the human brain can remain an atheist for long. Speaking of the brain, for years I’ve written about something I call “the learn a new word, see it within 24 hours phenomenon.” It seems that when you focus on something, your brain stores it in a special place, and perceives instances of it you wouldn’t normally notice. It happens constantly to me.

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE. Around 6:00pm I spoke to my wife about something I’ve been noticing lately. Let me explain. After the Second Vatican Council, tremendous apostasy ensued, and many folks twisted what the Council actually said into a falsehood they labeled “the spirit of the Council.” One aspect went something like this:

“God doesn’t care about rules and commandments. God doesn’t care about rubrics, fancy ceremonies, or beautiful liturgies. God doesn’t care about creeds and outward observances. God doesn’t care about sin or confession anymore. God doesn’t care if nuns and priests wear secular clothing. That’s all bad, outdated, pre-Conciliar stuff. The only thing God cares about is that we’re nice to one another and never offend anybody by talking about sin or hell. As long as we are friendly and neighborly, that’s all God cares about.”

Ironically, I’ve observed that many leaders of this “spirit of Vatican II” movement (who rose to positions of power in the Church during the 1970s and 1980s) are quite nasty. Filled with hatred, sarcasm, and arrogance, they seem to have no genuine love for anybody. I’ve seen what true love of neighbor is, and they don’t have it. My father, for instance, is a very loving person. He cares deeply about all humanity (even complete strangers!) and spends his time and money trying to help people every day.

Sure enough, less than two hours after sharing this with my wife, I came across the following passage by Paul W. Le Voir in a 1993 article he wrote for Sacred Music:

The church music scene in the United States today is not a pretty picture, and it has been growing uglier by the year for some decades. Composers and liturgists of the contemporary kind, whose compositions and writings will, thankfully, be forgotten by the end of the millennium, are lionized in publications and on programs of all kinds. Various associations and organizations within the Church regularly honor these individuals, perpetuating the corruption while lending it an air of legitimacy and the illusion of authority. Members of this American liturgical/musical establishment continually boast about their flexibility and sensitivity, but they are in fact the most rigid and insensitive of the Church’s members, especially if one has the temerity to challenge them, their policies, their processes, or their programs.

I can absolutely vouch for what Mr. Le Voir wrote, based on personal experience. I find it remarkable that within a few hours of speaking to my wife about this hypocrisy I should come across that paragraph.

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling
the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative
media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.